Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The
Four Day Summit Climb July 20 - 23 led by
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Megan Budge and Alex Halliday reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. The team reported good climbing conditions and moderate temperatures and a beautiful morning on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!
Our assault of the
Barranco Wall was relentless and the team finally conquered its mighty face with no loss of limb or life. The same can't be said for the poor, hapless porter who lost his load a third of the way up, which meant beating a hasty retreat down to the valley floor to retrieve it. Luckily, said porter was below us and not above, which might have been a whole other story.
The climbing up that part of our climb today was fun and exciting, but we were all humbled as we watched the porters scaling the same terrain with forty pound loads balanced on their heads or shoulders, and arriving to camp two plus hours before us.
The rest of the route undulated into and out of valleys, always under the shadow of the steep flanks of the upper mountain. We ended up only a little higher than our previous camp, so everyone's feeling strong and we're all becoming well acclimatized.
After arriving to camp and 'washing up' another incredible lunch was served: schnitzel with warm German potato salad, followed by apple pancakes and banana fritters. Wow!!!
While in our dining tent the clouds finally unleashed a little rain. We've been so fortunate with the weather so far, that this little precipitation has not dampened anyone's spirits. And now, after thirty minutes of wetness, it has abated.
We're all comfortably sheltered in either our personal tents or the mess tent playing cards, so not really affected by the vagaries of the weather. Quite nice.
Until tomorrow, we'll try to suffer on. Wish us luck.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
After a tough day the team is chilling at high camp, tired but very happy. We woke up early this morning to beat the heat on the glacier, though inevitably it caught us. Slow and steady was the name of the game as we pushed into the 17,000 foot world. After a couple hours on the lower glacier we got the the steep steps leading to the Col. Two pitches of steep ice and snow, with full packs, put us on the Col and looking right at the impressive south face of
Alpamayo. Another two minute stroll brought us to our high camp. Once we had tents set up everyone settled in to get out of the sun and catch a few zzz's before dinner. Despite being tired the team is happy, healthy and excited for our climb. We will take a full rest day tomorrow so we can make our summit bid with all our reserves roped off.
That's all for now.
Thanks for staying with us throughout this incredible adventure
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
Our longest day yet saw us climbing to a high point of 15,200', an altitude record for most of us. Thankfully, ours was a gradual ascent of the
Shira Plateau until Lava Tower (15,200'), which made our progress a little easier than it could have been.
Dropping 2,000ft to Barranco Camp at 13,000ft is allowing us to feel pretty darned good here at camp and giving us a perfect acclimatization program.
Upon walking into camp our mountain staff greeted us with a couple of wonderful folk songs. Not only are they talented singers, but most notably, everyone is incredibly nice, generous and they all bend over backwards to make us feel welcome.
The challenge for our group, and all climbers here, is to just deal with the altitude and keep from getting a gut bug. So far so good. 'Pole pole' is the oft heard refrain in Swahili reminding the world, or at least the folks climbing Kili to 'go slowly.' And that we are, to great effect.
To say that this is an outgoing and social group would be an understatement, but perhaps that can be expected since we're all family. It's fun hearing the roars of laughter coming from the mess tent as folks play a round of cards before turning in for the night.
Tomorrow, the Barranco Wall, a steep one and a half hour climb that should be fun and exciting for us. Not technical, but the steepest climb we've done yet.
It'll be a shame leaving the Barranco Valley, with its steep walls hanging spectacularly above camp, but on we climb towards the summit.
Next up, the Karanga valley.
Good night,
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
RMI Guides Kel Rossiter and Mike Uchal led their
Four Day Summit Climb teams for July 19 - 22 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They reported moderate winds and mostly clear skies.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Good evening from Moraine Camp.
The
Alpamayo team woke this morning to lots of coffee and a delicious breakfast, as per usual at Base Camp. After breakfast we spent the morning packing and discussing various gear options. Today was another beautiful sunny day so after we were packed we lounged in the sun and read our books until lunch time. Finally after lunch we decided we aught to do a little work so we shouldered our packs and started the hike to Moraine Camp. Despite it being sunny a slight breeze kept the afternoon hike very comfortable. By late afternoon we were settling in, enjoying the views, and sipping tea.
Tomorrow we will rise early and hit the glacier leading us up to the Col and then High Camp.
Thanks for following along with us,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Alpamayo team
The July 18 - 21
Four Day Summit Climb Teams reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.
RMI Guide Jess Matthews reported 20-25 mph winds and a sunny and beautiful day on the mountain. At 9:30 am the teams were descending from the crater rim on their return to Camp Muir.
We look forward to seeing the teams at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climbers!
Our five hour trek to the
Shira Plateau and our beautiful camp here began steeply out of Machame Camp and was quite relentless for a good three or so hours. Along the way we learned some walking and breathing techniques that will be key to our success on this expedition.
While I was busy coaching the team on these skills, one of our local guides, Peter, did a fantastic job with the pace and allowed us to move easily while still getting to camp at a reasonable hour. In this case, that would be at 1:30, just in time to sit down for the incredible lunch spread prepared by our chef Tosha. How does fried chicken, French fries and a refreshing salad, followed by watermelon sound, especially at 12,570'.
Climbing Kilimanjaro is nothing if not over the top luxury, and I'll take every last bit of it. Our staff on the mountain, the guide, porters, cooks, waiters etc. allow the team to concentrate on the important matter of acclimatizing and just taking care of ourselves. We'll need that help to be able to climb this 19,000' behemoth in a week.
Following lunch we've all gone into major relax mode, letting the altitude seep into our bodies and the calories just consumed reenergize us in preparation for a big day getting to Barranco Camp. And of course, we need to be rested for 'tea time' in a few minutes.
Yeah, life is tough here in Tanzania, but the team is reaping the benefits of our support crew and everyone is doing really well.
All for now from the Shira Plateau.
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
After a windy night, the team awoke to blue skies and a relatively calm breeze. We spent the first half of the day reviewing skills like rope travel and self arrest. The remainder of the day has been spent relaxing, prepping gear for our summit attempt of
Mt. Elbrus tomorrow morning, and watching some very acrobatic birds fly around camp. We are pretty much ready to go, now we just wait and hope for good weather. You'll hear from us tomorrow!
RMI Guide JM Gorum
On The Map
This morning we woke when the sun hit our tents and proceed to drink lots of coffee with and ate an amazing breakfast of bacon, sausage, and eggs. After breakfast we lounged around base camp reading and napping in the sun. After lunch we went for a short 15 min walk up to Laguna Arhuaycocha, a beautiful alpine lake with blue green water. From here the views of
Alpamayo, Artesonraju, and Pucarashta were stunning. We sunned ourselves on warm rocks by the lake and took in the amazing mountains surrounding us. After a while we made our way back to camp to relax a bit more before the sun dipped behind the ridge.
This rest day not only helps us recover after three days on our feet but also helps our body's acclimatize. Everyone is feeling great and ready to move up hill tomorrow.
Thanks for following along
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
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